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Overview

The long-term sustainability of an organization largely depends on the quality of the organization's team, which ultimately ties back to the company's leadership. Mike discusses the characteristics of a leader worth following and then shares practical advice for how to become that type of leader.

Learn

Who/How/Why to become a leader worth following
Riding the highs & lows of entrepreneurship
Creating balance between work & family
Lessons for our kids

“Leaders worth following care immensely about developing themselves and personal growth and about those that they lead and want the best for them.”

— Mike Beckham, Co-Founder and CEO, Simple Modern

Episode Transcript

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Episode Highlights

Tone setting (0:45)
Characteristics for becoming a leader that others follow: Character, Values, Growth Mindset, Vision, and Generosity (1:55)
Finding your identity outside of your leadership role (8:30)
Surround yourself with people you trust to push and challenge you (9:40)
Importance of mental and physical well-being (10:35)
Riding the highs and lows of entrepreneurship and leadership (17:00)
Balancing work-life and personal-life (19:35)
Demonstrating leadership for kids (25:10)
What’s next for Mike and Simple Modern (27:25)
Mike Drop Moment: Leaders worth following care immensely about developing themselves and personal growth and about those that they lead and want the best for them. (29:20)

Powerful Quotes

“If you're leading people, what are you leading them to?” -Mike

“I'm a CEO, but that's not who I am. And it's not the most defining thing about me, and I'm able to be a better CEO, I'm able to be a better leader, when I'm not relying on that for my identity.” -Mike

“The most important thing when it comes to your friendships is that there are relationships that are not tied to your performance. Because again, the more that you think about your worth as being tied to your performance, the more unhealthy we tend to become, and the less effective of a leader, we are.” -Mike

“Great leaders inevitably multiply. And when we multiply, our impact becomes exponential.” -Mike

“The reality is that leading is stressful. We have to acknowledge that. We're never going to be able to be the kind of leader that other people need and we're certainly not gonna be able to do it for an extended period of time, if we're not managing that stress.” -Mike

“When we're leading others, it's tempting and easy to put ourselves last.” -Mike

“When you zoom out and you look at a six month period or one year period, I think you can get a much clearer assessment of how you're doing how the organization is doing.” -Mike

“The more that you think about your worth as being tied to your performance, the more unhealthy we tend to become, and the less effective of a leader, we are. ”

— Mike Beckham, Co-Founder and CEO of Simple Modern

Questions you can ask yourself today:

How are you finding identity in your role or your job?
What is an area where you're making compromises about your physical health because of your position?
Is your leadership helping to create and encourage the development of other leaders? If not, how can you be more deliberate in that area?
Do you have people in your life that are giving you honest and candid feedback about how they experience you?
Are you experiencing being a follower, as well as leading others?